


That Distilled By Magic Sleights

by StormFireGirl



Category: Hazbin Hotel (Web Series)
Genre: Alastor is in Hell for a Reason (Hazbin Hotel), Angel Dust Being Angel Dust (Hazbin Hotel), Asexual Character, Attempted Sexual Assault, Character Death, F/F, F/M, Graphic Description, Hoodoo, Husk is So Done (Hazbin Hotel), Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Lwa | Loa | L'wha, M/M, Minor Alastor/Angel Dust (Hazbin Hotel), Minor Charlie Magne/Vaggie, Original Character Death(s), Original Character(s), Trans Angel Dust (Hazbin Hotel), Voodoo, radiodust - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-28
Updated: 2020-06-14
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:27:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,226
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24415882
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StormFireGirl/pseuds/StormFireGirl
Summary: A bet was made between a god of war and a goddess of dark arts: who could create a finer disciple, and when pitted against each other, which would triumph?Alternative Summary: Alastor learns that every deal has a fine print he doesn't know about, and Cora learns why you should never cross an entity like a Loa.
Relationships: Alastor/Angel Dust (Hazbin Hotel), Charlie Magne/Vaggie
Comments: 2
Kudos: 20





	1. Death in the Afternoon

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Baby Talk](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23217316) by [Scorpius_Wears_Short_Skirts](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Scorpius_Wears_Short_Skirts/pseuds/Scorpius_Wears_Short_Skirts). 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: attempted sexual assault, murder

* _ **HOOOOONK-**_ *

She saw it coming and had no time to move away.

First were the headlights, blinding and blaring. Then the grill, the remains of soft moth wings peeking out between the bars. Then there was pain, an explosion of it all across her body-

Then the dark.

_Momentarily._

And then, the fall.

Cora flailed and shrieked, the ground coming at her a mile a minute! And she hit it, hard, the air being knocked out of her lungs. "... oww..." she grunted and picked herself up, wincing. She blinked, slowly, and reached up, touching her face. "I'm, alive?" She patted her body, up and down, expecting to feel broken bones and blood seeping out of _everywhere_ -! "I'M ALIVE!" She shrieked and staggered up, stumbling on her feet. "How- how-?!" She checked her arms, her legs and then felt something, _else_. "Uh?!" She reached behind herself, and touched something highly sensitive. "What the-?!?" She looked around for a reflective surface, and saw a cracked store window. She hurried over to it, but when she looked, a shriek ripped from her throat! Wings??! Where had those come from!!? They fluttered, fully attached, fully her, white and full and delicate like the moth wings in the-

"Grill... oh my god." She took in her surroundings with mounting horror. The unfamiliar, towering buildings, the red sky above, the scattering of anthromorphic creatures and monstrosities-! She let out a laugh of disbelief. "Oh shit. This is it. I've done it. I'm in a coma. Yup. This is my brain swelling! My last, fleeting moments!"

"First time?"

She whirled around and saw a hulking lizard-like person looking down at her from an alleyway. "Y- uhh, what? Who are you?"

"Name's not important sweetheart. Lemme spell it out for ya: you're in _Hell._ _The_ Hell. And you're now stuck here 'till you're eviscerated."

Her mind was running a mile a minute. "I- no that can't be- right I- I was just- the semi-!"

"Aw don't worry sweetheart. I know, it's confusin'. I felt the same first time I got down here. C'mon. I'll take ya to the registry so they can get ya set up and put somewhere."

"I- wait- hold on-!" Her arm was grabbed and she was pulled along with him, into the alleyway. "Wait a minute! You have to be kidding me! I'm in _Hell_?!" She got no other reply. "Just, wait a second! Let go!" She started to try and pull away, but his claws dug into her flesh. "Ow!!"

"Shaddup," he growled and then Cora was jerked- no, _flung_ against the brick wall! "Keep your pretty mouth shut an' it'll be quick." He was against her, impossibly tall and impossibly _heavy_ and she felt like she was being crushed-!

"LET GO!" She shrieked, and he merely laughed, reaching for her skirt! "STOP IT! FIRE! FIIIRE-!"

"Jesus you gotta make all that noise?! The fuck I just say?! You're in _Hell_ dumb bitch!" He sneered as his hand went up it, to the waistband of her underwear! "No one gives a shit!"

She glanced to the entrance of the alleyway. No one had come to see the noise. People were feet away and they all just kept walking-! She felt the tug and her mind snapped from freeze to fight. She began to struggle, but it did little as he started to yank. And then she felt the rivets of blood coming from where her iron bracelets had cut into her wrists. Her eyes widened, and she hedged a bet. Symbols flashed, the diamond-like pattern flickering in the air as she fixated on her foe. A sacrifice of iron and blood, for strength and vengeance.

Cora shoved him off with ease, reached up above her head and felt the handle of a spear form in her hands! She lunged, shrieking, and plunged it right through her attacker's brain! He choked, eyes wide, and she withdrew it. It vanished into nothing as she panted. Holy shit. It'd worked?! How?!? Her powers were next to _nothing_ on earth!

And then, reality hit her like the semi had minutes before. Gulping in air, she glanced out at the street, and yanking up her underwear, stepped back out. She took in her surroundings yet again, and looked up to see creatures flying above her.

Hell. She was in _Hell_. She'd _died_.

_"... fffuuuuuck!!!!"_

* * *

Ogun sauntered by, unseen, watching the paramedics cover the lifeless body. The driver of the semi truck sat on the curb a distance away, wrists behind his back and head hung. His shoulders were shaking. He was _crying_. He tsked, and shook his head.

" _My,_ how dem tables turn." A thick, raspy accent sounded from behind him. Ogun turned, shoulders sagging slightly as he laid eyes upon his adversary. "Such a shame too. Dat girl was look'n promisin'."

"She still be promisin'." Ogun growled, watching the figure that remained in the darkness of the alleyway. Only her eyes, the thin strip of gold of her sclera was visible. "Wha 'bout y' boy?"

"Still an Overlord. He still be _strong_. He's go'n give dat girl a run fo' her money down dere." She chuckled, the jaggedness of her teeth reflecting.

"Y' tink so?"

"Our wager is still on, ol' man. Alastor ain't folded yet even wid dem others bear'n down on him." She slunk backwards into the dark. "Bedder be ready to admit y' lost."

"De same applies 't ya, Dry Hands." Ogun warned as she vanished. He clicked his tongue, and watched the flash of lights. He'd do what he'd have to, to make sure Alastor and his mistress didn't win their end of the stakes. "E'en death," he monologued as he turned away, "deal's a deal. Git ready girl. You go'n show me yet whatcha made 'a."

Ogun didn't play to lose. He'd just stick to his game plan: bide his time, and wait.

"Slow 'n steady... slow 'n steady..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> stay tuned folks :)


	2. Black Velvet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 5 years later, Cora has made a life for herself in the Pentagram. That life is about to be upset by someone she didn't anticipate ever meeting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for this chapter: violence, threats of violence

* * *

"- _I'm halfway there,_ " Cora hummed to herself, digging out her breakfast from the fridge, " _oh, livin' onna prayer_ ," the irony of that lyric bit her harder than it should have.

" _Take my hand and we'll make it, I swear!_ " She yelped as she was pulled back, into the hulking mass of a familiar person. " _Livin' onna Prayer!_ "

"Sheesh! Wyrl, do you mind?! Almost gave me a heart attack!"

"What a shame, to die twice from _that._ " The pterodactyl-like Sinner teased. 

"I'm gonna be late."

"You're never late!"

"I'm going to flip you over my shoulder if you don't let go."

Wyrl snorted at Cora's threat. "Oh yeah, sure babe." He let go and backed off though, letting her slip the tupperware into her bag. "See you tonight at the club?"

"Yep, Emmett's got a business meeting, gotta cover so you won't see me _much_." She clarified. 

"Don't let Snaggletooth boss you around."

"I won't."

Cora headed out, down the stairwell of their apartment complex and hopped over Lou as she passed. The demon was strung out on something, slumped over. He'd come to later. She exited the building, headed for the street, dodging Sinners as she hurried by. She dodged a demon spray painting one of the many graffiti-d walls, and took a glance at the image.

_**NO HOPE** _

_**FUCK IT ALL** _

The same moroseness they all felt came to the forefront of the populace after an Extermination. Twenty thousand souls purged this time. Cora had been grateful to have the foresight to create a bunker underneath the distillery, where she and her staff had hidden and waited it out. None of their lives were lost. All the distilleries around them though? Well the market was now a little bit of a _monopoly_. Business was in high demand until other distilleries got set up or reformed properly. And with that business came issues.

" _Shit_." She swore upon seeing the black SUVs lining the road in front of her business _Spiteful Sprite Ditillery_. The " _s_ " for " _Distillery_ " had been knocked off. The mafia was paying yet another visit, no doubt. She checked her gun, and confirming it was loaded, headed up to the doors. Two large, bulky spiders stood, arms crossed and sour looking. "Move."

"No one's allowed in."

  
"I don't give a shit, I own this distillery. _Move!_ " She barked, wings fanning out in aggression and fluttering slightly.

They eyed each other, and then one brought a walkie talkie up to his mouth, "Boss. Owner's here." A moment, then a crackle of noise. He stepped back, and the gunman allowed her passage. Indignant, she stormed right by, muttering under her breath.

"Every _goddamn_ year this happens," she stewed, " _without fail_ some egghead thinks he can cut a deal or do a takeover and I am gonna-!" Upon seeing the hulking form of a familiar tarantula, she switched from her annoyance to a happy disposition. A fake smile was spread across her face. "Henroin, hello! What brings you to Spiteful Sprite?"

"Harrymow." She tried not to grimace at the butchering of her last name. "We need ta' talk."

"And talk we can! I have a few minutes before I have to go to my office and conduct paperwork." She knew this song and dance by now. Best to play ignorant, be "the dumb bitch" and wait out the obvious manipulation and cajoling. She eyed her workers, who were being watched by the spider sinners.

"Listen, business is tight. Lost some 'a my men in this Extermination. I need ta' reclaim territory, an' I need somethin' with the funds ta' do so."

"You don't say. Are you offering to become a shareholder?"

"More like you're gonna give me some funds in exchange for us turnin' a blind eye on this place. We left it alone when ya moved into our territory, but it's high time ya paid us back." Henroin glared down at her. "An' it ain't gonna be cheap."

"So a threat. That's what this is." Her smile dropped in an instant when Henroin's glare confirmed, silently, her assumption. Cora didn't waste a second. She snapped her fingers, and her workers dropped everything, pulling out weapons and surrounded Henroin's men! "Now listen up, Henroin. We were here way before you usurped territory two years ago. My staff is made of _fighters_ and we don't take kindly to outsiders trying to strong-arm money outta us. So here's what's gonna happen." She pulled out her own pistol. "You are going to leave _right_ now or else you're going to feel what boiling beer searing fur is like when you reform."

He growled. "You're playing a game ya can't win missy."

She pulled back the hammer, unafraid of the guns aimed at her body. "Try me. See how long it takes for all of you to regenerate. The relief staff comes in about twenty minutes. Take a wild guess about if they're packing heat too."

Henroin's eyes flickered. He was taking in the odds. She knew he'd greatly underestimated exactly what he'd come up against: a distillery full of weaponized sinners, some of whom were a high enough level to be sporting an ability or two. He caved after a long, tense moment. "Fine. Ya win _this_ time Harrymow."

" _Harimau_." She snarled. "As in "ow", Henr- _o-_ in."

He didn't listen any further, motioning for his men to follow. They backed off, eyeing the distillery workers. Nobody took their eyes off of the mafia as they left the building. When the doors clicked shut, Cora exhaled and disarmed her weapon before holstering it. "Jimmy, go check and see those idiots actually left and aren't staking out the place."

"Got it boss!"

"Rest of you, good hustle. I'm proud. Sorry you had your closing shift interrupted, any overtime will be compensated for. Next crew comes in before you're done, have them help. Anyone reported sneaking out and leaving them to do extra is canned." She smiled. Genuine this time. "Anybody needs me, I'll be in my office."

Up the stairwell to the side, past the main floor where her workers were busy working on managing the fermentation tanks and her specialized stills she went. The office was small, nothing luxurious or glorious. Her desk, used and stained with god-knows-what sat waiting with her computer and paperwork from the previous day. She sat in her chair, adjusted her wings, and Cora was on the clock.

The day as usual passed by in the blur. There were shipments to coordinate, product to organize, produce to order in (grapes, potatoes, yeast and sugarcane) and with the surplus of demand coming in for Spiteful Sprite, they were, like their product under pressure. She barely took a break for lunch. The day ended with the night manager coming in at six, she signing out of her desktop and grabbing her things before heading out. Normally, nights like these she'd head home, eat dinner and crash early. Not tonight.

She grabbed a pill bottle on her way to the bus stop and swung back a pair of caffeine pills to keep her alert and wired for the night to come.

Emmett was pacing, checking his old Rolex when Cora arrived. "You're late!" 

"By two minutes." She huffed and took the clipboard he'd been holding. "What are we looking at?"

"Hot Rod is due to be here in 20. Cleaning crew found a bunch of heroin needles-"

"-In the bin?"

"... In the bin."

"Good." Cora nodded, eyes drifting down across the page at the check marks and what still needed to be done. "Delivery?"

"Came here from the distillery five hours ago, picked up, we're restocked." The barracuda straightened his tie. "I have to leave now Harimau. Some of us aren't down here for laziness and my clients-!" 

"Go, go on I got this!" Cora snapped, waving him off. Her eyes remained fixated on the clipboard. With a huff, she heard him turn and leave. 

Cora coordinated the night's set up until her manager, Tango arrived. Then she headed into the back, up stairs and across a catwalk hanging over the bar and washrooms. It gave her an eye on the former warehouse-turned-nightclub. ' _Desire_ ' was yet another pet project turned success, something else to fixate upon and spend her days in her undead life fussing over. She was proud of it, the work she'd put into that was slowly becoming an empire as the years wore on. Well, not an empire. Empires down in hell were for Overlords and those guys were ten times more powerful than she! But she had still cut herself two patchs of the Pentagram. Good enough. 

She sank back down in front of paperwork behind the desk she shared with Emmett. His cigarette butts were piled in a green dish next to the computer. The baseboards vibrated as music began at nine. There was another night with work to do while her patrons played away. As she went over the accounting (her usual guy was off for the night) and was making sure the costs of liquor from her distillery versus the door price and bar were evening out, her walkie talkie crackled; 

_-Big Bird to Butterfly, come in Butterfly, over!-_

She looked up, blinking tiredly and checked the clock on the wall. One thirty in the morning. She grabbed the device with little thought and hit the button: "This is Butterfly, go ahead Big Bird. Over!" 

_-We got a Code Spat over on the dancefloor, it's escalating. Over!-_

She exhaled as Wyrl's voice sounded. Great. "I'll intervene, be right down. Over and out!" She headed for the door, bringing the walkie talkie with her. Stepping onto the scaffolding, she peered over the railing and down below. 

Sinners had backed up, the music was still going but she instantly saw her security crew surrounding four individuals: spider, cycloptic, another moth and- wait. Was that the-? 

An explosion went off and she stopped standing there with her jaw slack. She lifted herself, stepping onto the top of the metal railing and vaulted, up and over! Her wings fanned out, catching the air as she glided down and landed with hardly a wobble onto the gap on the blinking floor lights. The sinners were squabbling feet away from her, voices muffled from the music still going. She signalled Hot Rod to kill it, then listened in on the mayhem:

"Angel Dust please-!"

"Princess I ain't even drinkin'! ... That much!" 

"Did you just seriously chuck a bomb at me?!?" 

"Fuck yeah and I'll do it again if you keep at it sugar tits!" 

"HEY!" Cora barked, catching their attention. Up went the smile. Down went her wings. "Excuse me, I'm the owner if this establishment. May I ask just what-?" 

"Mind your own fuckin' business!" The cycloptic demon snapped, holding a bomb. Oh _great_. What's-her-face from the news, who took on Serpentious was clutching a bomb in her nightclub! No way to shoot it safely out of her hands either. And her security being knocked down if she got one of them was not going to end well! Bristling, Cora held her ground. 

"This _is_ my business. You came into my establishment. You paid the price at my door. You-" 

The bomb was chucked at her! Cora reacted instinctively, pushing down on her iron bracelet! She ducked, the bomb sailing, cyclops ducked and covered her ears whilst the patrons screamed in fear. It rolled, but never went off. "... what the-?!?" Cora turned back around to see both the Spider Demon (Angel Dust, the porn star. Go figure!) and the other three looking astonished. 

"Now. Let me explain the rules for you briefly: no roofies, no revenge, no roughhousing. You all broke house rule #3. You're not getting your money back, it's being used to help fix _that_ ," she pointed at the broken concrete and singed tempered glass, "and now all of you get _out_!"

"B-"

"One word about your fame and prestige and there will be _blood_ on this dance floor on top of the damage already done."

With grumbles and birds flipped and cusses tossed, Angel Dust and his firebomb friend stormed out. The moth eyed her as she walked by, and Princess Charlene passed by, hands clutched together (like that would do her any good down there). "Sorry! I am so sorry about all of this! I'll repay the damage!"

Cora didn't bother to respond. She felt a headache coming on. She turned, back to her patrons, in the now silent club. You could hear a pin drop! "Nothing a free round of shots for all our patrons can't fix right?" She winked and there were cheers. Free booze always quelled a sour mood! "Red, Tango, get the glass cleared and the square sealed before anyone steps on it. Wyrl, make sure none of them try to sneak back in here."

"Got it boss!"

"Got it babe," Wyrl changed the last word, blinking in his form of a wink.

She shook her head, but patted his feathery arm as she passed. As the music was cranked back up, she stopped by the bar and leaned in towards where Aris was tending. "One round. Mix it with some water. Anyone complains, shake the bottle and add a splash more."

"Got it boss!"

With that, Cora returned to her office, slumped forward and massaged the pulsating space between her eyes. Shit. _More_ paperwork! "Fuck." She cursed aloud, going over to her desk and flopped into her chair. "Okay. You got this Cora. You can do this. Just, breathe. You handled that well. Just another batch of rowdiness. Just another day down here." She glanced at the papers tallying up her calculations. "... Emmett's gonna fucking kill me. _Again!_ "

* * *

It was four in the morning by the time she'd finished most of the work. Cleaning crew was due to arrive in an hour. She yawned, and stood up, stretching. Her wings fanned out, causing the papers to flutter in the air! "Shit! How do I always forget that?!?" She yelped and collected them, straightening them up and placed them on the desk for Emmett to go over. Cora grabbed her purse, swinging the strap over her shoulder and exhaled, shoulders sagging. " _They say we're all down here for a reason. I say fate is unkind to us all!_ " She locked her door and headed down the stairs. " _We played the hand dealt, crappy as it was. So did any of us really deserve our fall?_ " She walked past the bar, outside; " _Though I tried to make it right, my ass is still feeling the bite. Down here I'll stay, toiling this afterlife away... trying to keeping my misery at bay ..._ " She pocketed her keys as she walked away, the neon sign for "Desire" flickering off.

It was two blocks from the building when she sensed it: someone was tailing her. She glanced over her shoulder, expecting a purse snatcher or wannabe assailant. But, no one save for the slowly dissipating darkness. Her vision was limited. That was bothering her. She hoped they would go away, whoever-it-was. Really, she was at her wit's end with this day! If it was one of Henroin's men sent to assassinate her, why weren't they trying to get the jump on her already?! 

"Who's there...?" Cora's eyes flickered about. Her hackles were up. She was tired. "Fuck off!"

Silence. A beat, maybe two. She exhaled and started to walk again-

"My, my, such language!" From the shadows before her stepped a figure Cora had seen in posters and paintings; a man she'd only heard of in frightened murmurs and reports. The Radio Demon was now blocking her path! Cora stayed her ground. Shit. Shit no, what was she going to do?? "Nothing else to say? What a disappointment! You were quite articulate with those unruly patrons of yours!"

"You- you were there-?" She stammered aloud.

The Radio Demon laughed the fakest of laughs she'd ever heard. "Hahaha! Why yes my dear, I was in fact present for that little debacle! The Princess and I are currently business partners on an _entertaining_ endeavour and I tagged along to see what sort of hullabaloo would occur! And I must say, I was quite impressed!" He approached, stepping closer. Cora felt her wings fan up, a reflex to try and make herself look bigger. At the show of fear, she saw his head tilt and his ever-present smile take on a sinister quality. "Especially when you used that little _sleight_ of voodoo to make the bomb vanish..."

"It was just a distraction!" She exclaimed, backing up a step, a pit growing in her stomach. She fidgeted with her iron bracelet, the skin still raw beneath. "I didn't use-!"

"You know, liars are not my favourite type of sinner, my dear." The air seemed to flicker around him. She knew what that was. Oh _shit_. _He knew voodoo too!_ "Do you know how that old rhyme about liars goes? It was, let's see," he tapped a claw to his chin, looking up and away, then back at her. "Liar, liar, _**fAcE oN FiRE!** " _

He swung his cane, a wave of flame coming right for her! Cora reacted the moment he'd looked away though, allowing the bracelet to cut into her skin! There was a flash of orange, diamond shaped symbols waving in the air as one formed into a shield and saved her from the fire! It dissipated, and she gulped in air. "... Well, well. And here I thought I was the _only_ one." The Radio Demon was the picture perfect of calm. That unsettled Cora more than the display of raw power- raw _voodoo. Shit._ "So, how are you enjoying your abilities?"

"I- it's not-"

"Oh don't be modest! I can _sense a former disciple when I meet one..._ "

Cora had to run. She had no choice. She was not going to try her luck with the fucking Radio Demon! She ground out more blood and lifted her arms, causing a bright flash of fire to erupt and (hopefully) blind him before she took off running, down an adjacent alleyway and onto the street. She kept running, not stopping nor looking behind her, not until she made it to her street, into her stairwell, tripping over Lou and through her doorway! She slammed it shut, panting roughly, shaking as her wrist throbbed. Holy shit. _HolyshittheRadioDemonknewwheresheworked_ -!

"Babe?" Wyrl stepped out from around the corner and approached. "Oi, the fuck's the matter?! Who fucking touched-?"

"Radio!" Cora blurted out.

"What?"

"The- Radio- he- he was there- I had- I had to-"

"Babe, babe easy! Hey!" He knelt down. Such a gentle soul. He never deserved his fate... "Look at me. He ain't here. You're good. You're good."

She started to cry, even as he pulled her into his feathery arms. A half decade record of avoiding serious harms. And now she'd caught an extremely, exceptionally dangerous Overlord's attention.

* * *

Ogun paused, sensing an immense surge of power drawn and submitted to him. Intrigued, he summoned a looking glass to form from iron and glass, and looked upon where the source was. He saw, through the eyes of his disciple, Marinette's chosen one attacking his own! There was a stalemate. Then, they were talking, and Cora fled. A smile stretched across Ogun's face.

  
"Well, well. Looks like de girl finally met her match." He chuckled. "Keep runnin' girl, but ya only runnin' outta time."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes I did write fan lyrics for Alastor's reprise. It's sung to the melody of the chorus, but slowed down and quiet. I nicknamed it in my file, "Cora's Monologue".


End file.
